Glen Hiemstra, Gerd Leonhard

The old-fashioned telephone continues to decline as a method of conversing. The digital native generation isn’t even using email much. Instead, communications has become part of the multitasking environment. Gerd and Glen discuss how these changes will affect the future of communication and conversation. While some of these new methods are creating a truncated form of conversing, video communications are creating a richer way to interact than older systems.

They also talk about how the ability to carry on multiple conversations may mean that children may not have time for reflection and increases feelings of disconnection. They also review where things will be in fifty years as other ways to communicate continue to be developed.

This program is also available in video. You can click on the player below or download the video file (QuickTime/MP4, 61MB).

Based in Switzerland, Gerd Leonhard has spent over twenty-five years in the technology and entertainment industries. In 2005, Gerd co-authored the critically acclaimed book "The Future of Music" which has become a must-read for music industry professionals around the globe. Gerd's second book "The End of Control" is now available for free at www.endofcontrol.com, further expanding the scope of his work into TV, Film, Radio and Print Media. Gerd's clients include the EBU/ ABU, SonyBMG, the BBC, RTL, Granada International, Nokia-Siemens, ITV, Unisys, Gracenote, and the European Commission. He is much in demand as a speaker at many leading events and conferences around the globe, and is considered a leading blogger and visionary.

Gerd is an expert on the drastic changes that are impacting content, media and communication companies as a consequence of the rapid deployment of new, disruptive technologies, and of convergence; he is equally fluid in technology, legal issues, social and cultural contexts, business models and general trends that affect media and communications. Gerd is also a serial entrepreneur, with a focus on digital music, currently serving as CEO of Sonific LLC, a San Francisco based company that provides music applications and widgets for blogs, social networks and online communities. He also holds a Jazz Performance (Guitar) Diploma by Berklee College of Music (87), and is the recipient of Berklee's Quincy Jones Jazz Masters Award (1985).

An expert in preferred future planning, Glen has worked on projects that range from science and technology, to economics, demographics and transportation, and energy and the environment. He has also served as a technical advisor for television programs set in the future. In a first career, Glen was an award-winning educator. He has been a Visiting Scholar at the Human Interface Technology Lab at the University of Washington, which works on virtual and augmented reality technology. He is on the Advisory Board of EcoMedia.